10 forgotten retro sweets

Put in place just after the start of World War II in 1940, rationing remained for some time after the end of hostilities, with sweets not being freely available until this day in 1953.

Children across the UK immediately headed for their local sweet shop to snap up toffee apples, liquorice strips and sticks of nougat - items of confectionery relatively uncommon today.

So to celebrate here’s 10 sweet treats not available any more - or you’d maybe simply forgotten about...

Soor plooms - Originally manufactured in the Border town of Galashiels in the 14th Century, they taste just like, well, plums with a bit of a ‘tang’ to them. Like all similar items - pear drops, kola cubes - they’re sold loose and by the quarter pound, though they’re often far from ‘loose’, usually becoming stuck together in one massive pump at the bottom of the jar. See also: acid drops - boiled sweets with citric acid added for extra sourness.

Old Jamaica - Getting kids into the delights of rum (and raisin) early, the Cadbury’s chocolate bar offered an exotic taste of the Caribbean and piracy. Vanished from our shelves but came back fairly recently after a social media campaign

Aztec Bars - The nougat and caramel bar from Cadbury’s was launched in 1967, but didn’t last, perhaps being a bit too similar to the world-conquering Mars Bar.

Marathon bars - Went global in 1990 as its UK name was changed to fall in line with its American cousin, the Snickers...

And Opal Fruits - made by chewing company Wrigley, the “Made to make your mouth water” slogan was coined by motor racing commentator Murray Walker.

Parma violets - not containing ham, but remarkably, tasting of a purple flower, these hard tablet-like sweets are still popular with old ladies perhaps unaccustomed to modern confectionery.

Small chewy sweets, Fruit Salads tasted of… well, fruit, while Black Jacks were liquorice-flavoured. Still available, the latter’s packaging seems to have changed for reasons of political correctness...

Sherbet dabs - Sherbet - basically fizzy sugar - has been for some reason popular with kids in many forms - the sherbet lemon, a tart-tasting boiled confection with the sweet stuff inside, or the Sherbet fountain, where a liquorice tube is used to sook up the white powder. The Sherbet dab usually comes with a lollipop which when licked can be used to quickly consume the contents of what would originally have been a paper bag.

Smoking kits - a rare Christmas treat that was basically an e-cig in reverse, these usually consisted of sweet candy fake cigarettes and chocolate cigars (and a chocolate ashtray). Fake pipe tobacco (made from coconut) was another option.

Flying saucers - again offering your tongue a taste sensation, the rice paper UFO filled with sherbet was named the most popular sweet of all time in a 2004 poll.